Dubai: The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters will play back-to-back Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governor’s Cup games at Al Shabab Club against Global Port Batang Pier on Thursday and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Friday, both starting at 8pm.
This is the fourth time the PBA has played matches in Dubai since 2007, as it attempts to “bring joy” to the overseas Filipino market.
“Dubai is a very hot spot for Philippine basketball, be it Team Gilas Pilipinas [the Philippine national basketball team] or the PBA,” said outgoing PBA Governor Chito Salud. “Our basketball players never fail to entertain and bring joy to our kabayan [compatriot] OFWs [Overseas Filipino Workers] in Dubai and other parts of the UAE.
“We can’t resist our fans here. They simply love the PBA and the PBA loves our countrymen here even more. Rain or Shine, Globalport and Ginebra will put on a show for Dubai.
“I would like to thank the Rain or Shine management for agreeing to play back-to-back games,” he added. “It’s very rare that a team in the PBA for a regular season would agree to play back-to-back.”
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said his team had no problem playing back-to-back games despite the obvious disadvantages it will cause.
“Personally, it’s just part of our contribution to providing high level basketball to OFWs. It’s a small sacrifice for our overseas fans,” he said. “It’s also a character-building situation because it forces you to adapt, makes you play tougher, physically and mentally.
“We will go all out 100 per cent both games — there will be no holding back. That’s who we are and that’s what we intend to bring before our kabayans here. They can expect only the best effort from us.”
Rain or Shine are currently bottom of the Governor’s Cup eliminators standings after losing their first two games of the series. They will look to get off the mark in Dubai in order to replicate their form in the previous conference — the Commissioner’s Cup, where they were losing finalists.
Global Port are currently third in the series after winning their first three matches and will be buoyed by the return of their coach Pido Jarencio, who almost didn’t travel to Dubai after being hospitalised with a stomach upset. They will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Commissioner’s Cup, where they finished tenth in the eliminators.
Meanwhile, Ginebra will be looking to change their Governor’s Cup fortunes. They are currently tenth in the eliminators after losing three of their opening four games, but they come with solid pedigree having reached the quarter-final stages of the last two conferences.
